RETROSPECTS 2024 - #1 - OREGON COAST

Surf, Ecola State Park, Oregon

I know, it’s a little early to start with retrospects for 2024 already but some other projects kept me away from the camera lately. I still have been out in the Great Outdoors this weekend but sometimes we just have to let it sink in and admit that the pictures we brought home do not tell the story as we thought they would.

So here we go with a photo, created in late March, from the coast of Oregon at the Pacific Ocean. Ecola State Park has some great vistas, like the view to Tillamook Lighthouse, and watching and listening to the surf below was just great.

I used a 2 second exposure to give the surf a sense of motion but without making it a ”milky puddle”. Each image was different and the surf really dictated how the photo was perceived. This one I liked the best…

HAYSTACK ROCK AT ANY WEATHER

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Pacific North Coast of Oregon

The coast of Oregon is not a place that has sunshine all the time, especially at this time of the season. There were quite a few hours during our explorations and hikes along the shore when the colors were muted. But rain, fast moving clouds, and the surf on these stormy days created drama and the question I asked myself was, how can I make it visible in my photos? Seeing in black and white and envision how the final picture may look needs practice and I certainly could use some more of that.

The photo was made at low tide in the town of Cannon Beach. The iconic Haystack Rock attracts many people and it has been photographed probably several million times before. I did not go too low with my tripod because I wanted to have a bit more of the surf in the frame. To give the waves a sense of movement and keep the mist in the air visible I exposed 2 seconds at f/7.1. I tried longer and shorter times but this seemed to lead to the most harmonious results. The pattern in the sand changed quickly and it required reposition of the camera several times for some lines with reflections and shadows. Crushing waves broke frequently on this basalt sea stack and I was able to capture one of these moments. Who says you can’t make a photo on a stormy and rainy day…? 😉

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head,   @ 52 mm, 2 s, f/7.1, ISO 100

A FAVORITE VIEW

Fischerpforte (Fisher gate), Bautzen, Germany, Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S

I wasn’t sure if I get this shot sharp enough because a tripod wasn’t with me that evening in my home town Bautzen in Germany. This over 1000 years old city holds many interesting views for the photographer but this stairway from the Spree River up to the old town is among my favorites. The place where the photo was made is called Fischerpforte (Fisher gate). Back in the old days the fishermen living down below used these stairs to bring their fresh catch to the market in town. Part of the old city wall is visible at the right hand side and at the upper end of the stairs was a gate that could be closed in the matter of defense.

Back to the exposure time for this image. It was shot at ISO3200 but still required an exposure time of 0.4s. Despite image stabilization in cameras or lenses, stabile handholding and exhaling the air from the lungs is still mandatory for a sharp picture at night time.

RESULTS WITH LONG EXPOSURE

Whitewater Creek in Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Area, eastern Iowa

There is a chance that this could be my last winter photo of this season that includes snow. What it’s left on the ground melts rapidly away right now and warmer temperatures are in the forecast for the next days. After we left the cave with ice formations ,you perhaps saw in my last blog post, we went down to Whitewater Creek at the bottom of the  canyon. When I saw the pristine field of snow along the creek, with no animal or human tracks on it, I felt the urge to make a photo.

The crystal-clear water flows slowly but still had a few ripples on the surface. Long exposure and the BREAKTHROUGH X4 10-stop neutral density filter eliminated any glare on the surface, made even the bottom of the creek visible, and still retained the reflections from the other side of the creek. It was magical and I love the outcome with any of my Breakthrough filters. By the way, to calculate the exposure time for a photo with the 10-stop or 6-stop ND filters, I use an app on my phone, called ND Timer. It’s free and does the trick just fine. After a test shot without filter you dial the normal exposure time (for this picture it was 1/80s) into the app, choose the grade of your filter (10-stops), and the app displays the required exposure time. I use it usually as a starting point and make corrections up or down to find the best results for the image I have in mind, especially with fast flowing water.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, Breakthrough X4 ND filter (10-stop) GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head  @ 37mm, 15s, f/20, ISO 100

ARTSY-FARTSY SUMMER FUN

Although I do not publish a new blog post every day, I still try to make a few clicks with the camera daily. Sometimes just to practice or try out new things, and other times to keep the creative juices flowing. Most of these pictures will never be seen by the public eye but for me they are part of the ongoing learning process in photography.

We had finally some rain today and the air cooled down a little bit, but two days ago it was very hot and muggy and I just sat in a chair outside with the camera in my lap. The sun had already set but there was still a little glow touching our flowers, ferns, and grasses in the front yard. I played around with some long exposure times between two and ten seconds while keeping the camera in motion. This became more interesting when the lightning bugs (some call them fireflies or glowworms) started their performance. The slow movement of the camera duplicated our purple coneflowers while the short appearance of the bugs made for sharp little light trails. Just some artsy-fartsy fun with the camera… 😊

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, @ 8s, f/5, ISO 100

ATTENTION TO THE HIGHLIGHTS

Creek, Bankston County Park, Iowa

Same location as in yesterday’s blog post. I looked for beauty at the river valley and tried to work towards a fine art print. The photo is underexposed by one f-stop to hide more of the clutter in the river bed. When the picture is framed in the viewfinder it is important to watch the highlights in the water in order to anticipate the results. This of course has to be done before the 10-stop ND filter is attached to the lens because it is so dark, you can’t see much through it in an environment that is not very bright. With flowing water no two images are alike. This requires some patience to obtain the desired outcome. At the same time it is interesting and has a learning curve, but is also a relaxing and calming process.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4, Breakthrough X4 ND filter (10-stop), GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head, VELLO wired remote switch,  @200 mm, 13 s, f/11, ISO100

AT THE BOTTOM OF THE VALLEY

Little cascade, Bankston County Park, Eastern Iowa

I still try to reveal the possibilities of the new Breakthrough X4 10-stop ND filter. Our dog Cooper and us always love to visit Bankston County Park, with its cold creek running through the valley on a bed of ancient limestone rocks. Little cascades are an ideal subject for long time exposures and if the light coming through the dense canopy of the trees hits the right spots, you may find the photo that was on your mind.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4, Breakthrough X4 ND filter (10-stop), GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head, VELLO wired remote switch,  @200 mm, 26 s, f/11, ISO200

A CATBIRD AT APPLE RIVER CANYON

Gray Catbird, Apple River Canyon, Illinois

I admit, we have neglected one part of the TriState-Area (Iowa / Wisconsin / Illinois) more than the two others. After more than fifteen years of living here, Joan and I finally made it to Apple River Canyon State Park in the northwest corner of Illinois today. People were fishing for trout in the river at the bottom of the canyon, a sure sign that water quality is decent, and several short hiking trails allow to explore the canyon and enjoy birds and wildflowers.

At the end of a hike we sat down in our camping chairs right at the banks of the Apple River. Our dog Cooper took a short bath and we enjoyed just watching a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers bringing food to their offspring in a dead tree on the other side of the river. As we were about to leave and go home, this Gray Catbird hopped along the river banks and tried to catch some insects by jumping up into the ferns that hung down. 

I had the Nikon D750 with the Sigma 150-600 in my lap and realized after a test shot that the exposure is around 1/40-1/50s at ISO 400. Optical stabilization of the lens (Sigma calls it OS) helped to make this image. It is not tack sharp, not even close, but I love the light and the gesture of the catbird as it looks for insects and gets ready for the next jump up into the ferns.

The canyon? Well, I thought I will wait for a landscape picture until another time. Light was really harsh in the canyon and I’m sure this was not our last visit.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/50 s, f/6.3, ISO400

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #14 - WILDLIFE ENCOUNTERS IN LOW LIGHT

White-tailed Deer, Bear Head Lake State Park, Minnesota

I have never been a friend of shooting wildlife with an ISO setting above 250-320. But when you walk out into nature early in the morning or during a day with low light due to overcast, you have to rethink your ideas. The higher the ISO, the lower the resolving power, the more noise in the image, and the lower the dynamic range. But at the other hand, a sharp photo with a higher ISO setting is still better than capturing a blurry picture because shutter speed is too slow as a result of having the ISO settings in the basement. This is in particular true if a very long focal length is employed while handholding the camera. There is a limit where Vibration Reduction or Optical Stabilization, as SIGMA calls it in their lenses, may help you to get a sharp image. The well-disposed viewer of a photo on the web, in a blog post, on Instagram, or any other social site may not see much of a difference, but the real quality bar for a good photograph is the ultimate print.

The photo of this White-tailed Deer, up in Bear Head Lake State Park, Minnesota was shot at ISO 800. To make it clear, it wasn’t a difficult shot. As I wrote here in the blog before, the deer near a campground are not tame, but they are used to people and don’t run away as soon they see a human. Staying in or near a campground is a safety strategy that at least works during the camping season. Their predators, like wolves, avoid these places.

I have shot handheld at 500-600 mm focal length, 1/60 s, ISO 200 or even lower, but I also have deleted a lot of pictures with this kind of settings. Practice is always the key to success for sharp photos but sometimes a higher ISO can save your butt.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,   at 490 mm, 1/320s, f/6.3, ISO800

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #13

Sunset at the St. Louis River, just outside of Duluth, Minnesota

Jay Cooke State Park was the last campsite for one night at the end of our journey through the Northwoods of Minnesota. We had some snow and rain during the trip and shooting pictures of fast flowing water just seems to be a logic consequence. Well, I love to make photos of creeks and rivers. It is never boring and always a challenge.

I have talked here in the blog some time ago about a technique to make these kind of pictures without the use of a neutral density filter. There are sometimes situations where combining multiple exposures in one image, right in camera, is a valid solution. In particular at narrow and busy places, like famous waterfalls, with lots of visitors. Observation decks for example often vibrate and make any effort with a long exposure useless.

For this photo things were just great. At this time of the year, mid October, the low sun covers the river and the surrounding rocks with warm light for quite some time before it disappears behind the trees. With the Nikon D750 on a solid tripod I used the BREAKTHROUGH X4, 6-stop ND filter in front of the Nikon Nikkor 70-200, f/4 lens. For the final image a 5 second exposure at f/18, ISO 100 was used. Sure, some people like to see the water even silkier, it’s an unfortunate trend at the moment, but the wild St. Louis River, with its waterfalls and cascades, is not smooth at all at this place. The story of that evening was the combination of soft and warm light with the fast flow and turbulences of the river. If weather allows Joan and I will be back in the Duluth area very soon. Can you sense my excitement…? 😊

OUT WEST #10

North Tongue River, Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming

I was asked if I had anything new in my photo bag during our recent trip. Nothing big, except for one piece of accessories that helped me to solve a problem with my landscape photography that had bugged me since awhile. I finally added a 77 mm, 1.8 Solid Neutral Density Filter (6-stop) from Breakthrough to the “tool box”. I have experimented in the past with cheaper ND filters for long exposures and one reason I never used them very often was because I didn’t like how they rendered the colors. There seemed to be always an unwanted color cast. I can tell you, the Breakthrough is the cleanest filter I have ever used. I was wondering if a screw on filter with 6-stops can still be used with the camera’s auto focus. And yes, you can!

At North Tongue River, near our campsite in the Bighorn Mountains I had plenty of opportunities to test, play, and have fun with this piece of glass. With moving water every picture turns out a little different, but selecting the one I like to show here in the blog was not influenced by lack of quality due to an unwanted color cast.

One of the things I realized during these long exposure shots is that I payed a lot more attention to composition. Having the camera on a stabile tripod is mandatory and really taking the time to envision how the blur of the water may impact the final image led to results I’m quite happy with. Most of the time during our vacation we had a blue or sometimes hazy sky. I was hoping to have a chance experimenting with fast moving clouds but this has obviously to wait for another time…

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4, Breakthrough X4 ND filter 1.8 (6-stop), Induro GIT 404XL tripod, KIRK BH-3 ball head, VELLO wired remote switch,  @200 mm, 6 s, f/25, ISO100

DESPERATE TANAGERS

Female Scarlet Tanager -------

We had two very cold and wet days and I feel bad for the birds that just arrived here a week ago. The Scarlet Tanager spends the winter in the tropical forest of northwestern South America. During the last years we always had a pair or two here during the summer but it is a very secretive bird and we usually see it only in May or June. I don’t know if it is the cold weather only, but right now we see up to six male and three female tanagers in the “front and back yard studio”. They use our suet feeders or eat from the oranges we put out for the orioles very frequently and this gives me a lot opportunities to make a click while they are waiting for their turn in our trees and bushes. We can only imagine how hard it is for the birds after such a long journey to replenish their energy and the cold temperatures (yesterday it was 46ºF / 8ºC) are not helpful for sure.

Male Scarlet Tanager

The brilliant colors of both sexes make it very inviting to take their pictures. The dark overcast we had most of the time requires shooting with relatively long exposure and not every click leads to a sharp photo. Wind and the movement of the birds play a role as well. I shoot the SIGMA 150-600 wide open at f/6.3, 600 mm, and ISO set between 200 and 400 at the most. The exposure time was mostly between 1/60s and 1/200s but there were a few shots as far down as 1/25s.

VEGAS AT NIGHT

The most interesting time in Las Vegas is at night, with all the lights, shows, glitter, and glamor. The strain of sensual perception is hard to deny. Joan and I had a great time the night before the wedding, just walking around, having a drink here and there, and shooting some pictures... I didn’t bring a tripod for proper camera support and wasn’t able to experiment with real long exposures, but I had fun chasing the light at night. It helps to use a lens with vibration reduction, and except for the picture with the light and water show in front of Caesars Palace, all photos were made handheld. Exposure times were between 1/4 s and 1/60 s and in most cases I took multiple shots, sometimes leaning against a wall to stabilize the camera. You can click on each image for best viewing.